Getting The Most From A 2 Car Garage....On A Budget

[Tommy R]

Hey y'all,

I've gotten a lot of inspiration from this site and thought that maybe now I can give a little back. About 2.5 years ago I moved into a new-to-me house with an attached 2 car garage measuring approx. 21'x22'. Far from "big enough", but it's what I could afford in the neighborhood I wanted to live in. It was built in '76 so it's showing some age. Unfortunately, the hot water heater is in the garage taking up useful space and it's an undesirable (to me) two door arrangement. But it's what I've got so I need to make the most of it....literally! Here's some photos of it when I moved in.

And let me say something up front. I think it's really cool to have a fancy looking, high end garage to park your cars in with big dollar TVs, surround sound, a kegerator, etc.....you know, the quintessential "man cave" as it were. I'm cool with that stuff, but unfortunately I do not have the means for such a garage. It'd be great to have a space like that to park the cars and a separate "machine shop" garage to do all the mechanic type work. For now, that's not in the cards. This will be a working, 100% functional, usable garage for the average guy who works on his junk.

I knew I would be doing a lot of fabrication in here and space would be at a premium. I also wanted to get LOTS of light, a durable epoxy coated floor, ample shelving, and I'm also pretty **** about having stuff off the floor as much as possible to help keep things uncluttered and to aid in clean up. So before I moved anything in to the garage I had to coat the floor and paint.

The walls and ceiling got undiluted white gloss latex for maximum reflectivity. The floor got loads of muriatic acid prep work (old, dirty floor!) and after applying the "pro grade" version of Rustoleum's epoxy kit, this is what the garage looked like. Oh, I also had a few 110V outlets added and a 220V outlet in the corner.

Here you can see the extra 16" depth I have on one side of the garage. And I'm thankful for it!

Here I'm finally beginning to move some tools in: the 60 gal. compressor, drill press, work bench, and tool chest. With the glossy floor, ceiling, and walls the lighting from the 3 existing light fixtures was nearly adequate. It was a significant improvement for sure! However, I planned on a lot of shelving which would limit some of that reflected light. Also, I'm a lunatic when it comes to light while I'm working. I can't have enough! More would be needed....

Everything above was done within the first month I moved in. That was about 2.5 years ago. Now I'll try to bring everyone up to speed in the next post so stay tuned.

 

[Rando]

Very nice space you have good job on the floor

 

[Tommy R]

Since I moved in, I've been making steady progress in the garage. I've added a lot of tools, shelving, lighting, etc. My focus all along has been to have a garage that can function as a small fabrication & mechanic shop making use of every spare inch I can. It needs to allow me to work on my projects and be set up in a fairly organized way that will also allow for easy clean ups. Oh! And it also has to be able to accommodate 2 vehicles at all times. It would be a challenge, no doubt. Below are some pics that will show what I did in order to maximize the usefulness of my meager 2 car garage.

First, here's some overall shots showing it fairly clean and organized. It's far from "done", but you get the idea.

Now let me show the specifics of what I've done. First up, let's talk about the ceiling. I kept the 3 fluorescent fixtures (T12) the previous owners left. I then added 8 or 9 T8 fixtures. I lost count. All of them are dual 4' units. One still needs to be hooked up, but the lighting is incredible. Note I left the draw strings attached so I have the option of turning off some lights. This has helped at times when welding with an auto-darkening helmet. When the garage is too bright it seems to delay the speed it darkens. Also, the attic is above the garage so I was able to hardwire the lights instead of relying on countless outlets and extension cords. I also mounted them as high as I reasonably could to increase headroom since the garage has low ceilings.

Being somewhat of a fabricator (and I use the term loosely!), I have a bit of scrap steel I want to keep for future projects and I don't want it getting rusty sitting outside. Storing the longer stuff can be a pain so I picked up some wire shelving and fabbed up a "scrap steel loft". It's as tight to the ceiling as I can get it so it clears the garage door. I used wire shelving simply so I could see the scrap from underneath easily to help me locate the parts I want. In all honesty, I'm not entirely happy with it. It functions fine, but just looks cruddy so I plan on making some steel brackets to bolt to the joists which will cradle the wire shelving. One of these days....

There's still something missing from the ceiling and that's a ceiling fan. I had intended on installing a single, large fan in the middle, but my light placement won't allow it. So instead I'm going to pick up a pair of smaller fans and install them on either side, but I don't have them yet. I still need to determine what sizes I can fit.

That's it for the ceiling. More in a minute....

 

[Tommy R]

Now I'd like to show y'all around the garage and point out some of the simple things I've done in order to maximize the room I've got. In this shot of the right side of the garage you can see that I hung my mountain bike between the doors on that otherwise useless space. I also store a box under the bike that I keep my offroading gear in. I figured the space under the bike couldn't be used for anything else, right? On the wall you'll notice a whiteboard (gotta have one!) along with my heavy tie downs hanging from the garage door tracks. It's like a free mini-shelf! I still have a bit of free wall space available, but I'm using this area last since it'll most interfere with getting in/out of vehicles.


Farther into the garage we have the recess I pointed out earlier. I did my best to utilize as much of this space as possible. The 4x6 band saw resides there and can be used in horizontal or vertical modes where it sits. It's mounted on a cart with 4 swivel casters so it can be easily wheeled out for cutting longer pieces. The small bench holds the grinder and the belt sander. Underneath is the chop saw, but I rarely use it since I got the band saw. There's a mini-fridge on the ground, but I'd like a better location for it. The small box fan is mobile and usually goes wherever I'm working. It gets warm in Texas. Above this stuff is shelving and you can see what they're holding so I won't elaborate. I need to add a wall mounted power strip to clean things up.


This corner is pretty clear, I think. I insulated the hot water heater to hopefully keep the garage cooler. The roll away toolbox is butted up to it. And of course, lots of shelving above. I prefer to have the deeper shelving up high and shallower shelving lower when dealing with confined spaces.


A friend of mine told me I should start a list of all the cars I've worked on in this garage. I thought the door would make a good notepad.


I built a new workbench, but utilized the bottom of my old workbench for the drawers and cabinet. The new bench is pretty stout with 1.5" of MDF on top supported by lots of 2x4s and gussets. It's covered with 1/8" steel plate with a steel backsplash. I countersunk some flathead bolts to secure the steel to the bench top. I made the open area underneath large enough for the shop vac and it's also currently got my small jack in there. Next to that I have my Lincoln 220V MIG welder (also on a cart) and my drill press next to that. Above, I used a small amount of pegboard for some commonly used tools and mounted some hardware bins next to it. Of course, shelving all around.

 

[Tommy R]

Continuing to move around the garage, we find ourselves in the most crowded area yet. Starting from the bottom right is my hydraulic press (on casters for easy mobility) which is temporarily also storing my spare wheel for the Jeep. Next to it is my air compressor in the corner, and temporary storage of some small scrap steel (in the white box), a small toolbox, and some wheels for my project car. As always, above this stuff is more shelving, a 50' retracting air hose reel, and a TV, which also doubles as my music source while working.

More shelving....

And finally, on the wall I have some heavy duty hangers for my Jeep doors. I have soft doors (pictured) as well as full doors with glass windows. The hangers are stout enough for either. Since I often drive the Jeep with no doors I'll likely dedicate these to the heavy full doors and add some lighter duty hangers for the soft doors on the opposite wall.

So there you have it. It's not fancy or anything, but it's what I did in order to make the most of my garage and have it fit my needs 'til I can afford a 4-5 car garage/shop. Hopefully, this may help someone in a similar situation. And I'm always open to criticisms and ideas so if you have a suggestion, please let me know. I'm always trying to find more room in my garage...just like most of y'all! And I've got more detailed photos of this stuff. I'd be happy to share them, but figured I posted enough already.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading.
Tommy

 

[mgroshong]

for making the most of what you have.

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Looks like you have made pretty good use out of that space. I like the coupe.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Awesome use of space.....My garage floor looks like ****. There's times when I think about coating it, but I worry about durability. With over two years in, can I get a quick review of your floor and how it's held up?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Very nice job Tommy, neat and organized. Personally, I've got too much cr@p to be able to keep it all visible like you have your stuff, plus I live in an old established neighborhoos full of fruit trees so rats are an issue periodically. FOr that reason and dust, I used cabinets of various type to conceal everything. I'm purging stuff as I reset my garage. One of these days I'll post pictures of the results.
Couple questions:
Do you find the compressor too noisy? Any plans to enclose it and vent the intake/heat through the wall?
What's the deal with the light switch way up high on the wall near the door?
Would it be helpful to have the disc/belt sander & grinder on wheels like the bandsaw is?

Saving your pic's by the way. I only save the ones I find give me good ideas, thanks!

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks for the nice comments. They're much appreciated. It's still got a long way to go and needs several improvements, but it feels good to make real progress with it!

Awesome use of space.....My garage floor looks like ****. There's times when I think about coating it, but I worry about durability. With over two years in, can I get a quick review of your floor and how it's held up?

You betcha... The floor has held up GREAT! The only issues I've had are welding slag can burn teensy tiny holes in the epoxy, as you'd expect. I should use my welding blanket more often. The only other issue is I had a bunch of metal dust on the floor after a really big Jeep project and water got into the garage and rusted all the dust, resulting in big stains. They're coming up, but it's going to take some elbow grease to make it better than it is now. Can't blame the floor for that, though! You can still see the stains on the passenger side of the Model A.

Keep in mind I used the professional grade Rustoleum kit only available from Fastenal and such, not the likes of Home Depot/Lowe's. I also did a lot of diligent prep work on the concrete to get the epoxy to bond to it. It's also clearcoated and I used the traction granules provided in the kit, which I highly recommend. Hope this helps!

Very nice job Tommy, neat and organized. Personally, I've got too much cr@p to be able to keep it all visible like you have your stuff, plus I live in an old established neighborhoos full of fruit trees so rats are an issue periodically. FOr that reason and dust, I used cabinets of various type to conceal everything. I'm purging stuff as I reset my garage. One of these days I'll post pictures of the results.
Couple questions:
Do you find the compressor too noisy? Any plans to enclose it and vent the intake/heat through the wall?
What's the deal with the light switch way up high on the wall near the door?
Would it be helpful to have the disc/belt sander & grinder on wheels like the bandsaw is?

Saving your pic's by the way. I only save the ones I find give me good ideas, thanks!

Hi Dan, the compressor is noisy, but it's not that bad. Tough to talk over it easily when inside, but very tolerable. I've had no inclination to do anything about it. Since it's fairly large, it doesn't have to fire up frequently which helps. The tall light switch by the door is for the hot water heater. The builders of this house had some....let's say "interesting" ideas on switch placement. I thought about putting the "sanding bench" on wheels, but don't really think I'll need to. I've got plenty of clearance around it for sanding/grinding even large/long items.

I appreciate the compliments. Here's a link to all the pictures I've taken of the garage. If you (or anyone else) wants a detailed photo of something specific, feel free to ask.
http://tommyr.smugmug.com/House-Pics/Garage/4324191_qhhpK#253573503_X8UCx

Thanks,
Tommy

 

[TONE]

Nice Job. Every single inch looks like it has a purpose. Great planning and execution.

Now lets see some progress on the rod

 

[mtbzack]

Hiiiiiiiii Tommy...

I won't make it to the proper garage christening this weekend, bachelor parties, you know?

 

[imok]

You have a very nice garage. I am always interested in ideas for a smaller size space. If my house ever sells I will probably not build another separate garage at my next house, and will be working with a standard attached two car garage.

Charles

 

[Cage]

The way you have that place organized makes it look bigger than a two car garage, great ideas and I`m gonna steal some of them. Very nice floor too !

 

[jocool1585]

Let's see the Jeep!

 

[28HopUp]

Thanks for the tour of your garage. Very nicely done. Neat idea about keeping track of the vehicles on the door like that.

 

[jonny01blaze]

Great use of space! The floor came out great as well!

 

[GregsRetroGarage]

Keep up the good work!

 

[7echo]

Thanks for posting, good job maxing out your space. I am thinking you are partial to LSU?
Only thing I would add is an AC, I know it gets way hot there.

 

[loudrango]

great use of the slim spot between the doors to hang the bike;very creative.i too have posted my modest 2 car garage here and i too will be spinning off of some of your space saving ideas!here's an idea:box in the hot water tank and then paint/airbrush it to look like another tool chest!

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Tommy, you have a great garage there that is very efficient and economical. Looks like you used every bit of space you could.

 

[Boosted1]

Excellent work and thanks for sharing. Very tidy and good use of your space.

 

[Edstu234]

Very beautiful and functional garage. Any pics of the Jeep ??

 

[TheAnser]

I have my mt. bike hung in the same spot. Great use of that space and keep it out of the way (for the most part) Nice turnaround by the way!

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks again to all of you. Y'all are way too kind.

Nice Job. Every single inch looks like it has a purpose. Great planning and execution.

Now lets see some progress on the rod

Thanks! The main purpose of getting this place organized is so I finally start making progress. My goal is to have a rolling chassis by October. I've gotta get busy!

Hiiiiiiiii Tommy...

I won't make it to the proper garage christening this weekend, bachelor parties, you know?

Zack!! No worries, man. You missed a good time, though....

Let's see the Jeep!

There's a link in my sig, but here's a quick pic...

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks for the tour of your garage. Very nicely done. Neat idea about keeping track of the vehicles on the door like that.

Thanks! Yeah, I thought that was a cool idea, too. I'm glad my buddy suggested it to me.

Thanks for posting, good job maxing out your space. I am thinking you are partial to LSU?
Only thing I would add is an AC, I know it gets way hot there.

LOL, I'm an LSU grad and yeah, I'm a bit of a fan. A/C is in the works. Before I make the investment, though, I want to add some ceiling fans and see if that makes it bearable.

great use of the slim spot between the doors to hang the bike;very creative.i too have posted my modest 2 car garage here and i too will be spinning off of some of your space saving ideas!here's an idea:box in the hot water tank and then paint/airbrush it to look like another tool chest!

Thanks! Yeah, that's one good thing about having multiple doors, I guess. Funny idea about boxing up the heater! I was considering relocating it behind the back wall. Currently, there's a patio there so it's certainly feasible, but that's a last resort. I'm hoping not to clutter up the patio if I don't have to. Not to mention I really don't know how long I'll be in this house so I'm trying to minimize the big investments that I can't take with me.

 

[Tommy R]

One other thing I wanted to point out. It would be really nice to have a bunch of nice, neat looking cabinets instead of all these messy shelves. However, there's very good reasons I didn't go this route.

• Cabinets have doors. To open these doors requires clearance room. Not a big deal 'til you start working in really cramped areas. Corner cabinets can be a pain and interfere with other cabinets. And if you have a vehicle parked close to the cabinet you may not be able to open it.
• Using cabinets means all the shelving in that area must be the same depth. I prefer deeper shelving up top and shallower shelving down low. This provides more room to walk around due to shallow shelving, but the deeper shelving allows storage of larger, bulkier items.
• Similar to above, but the custom configurability is limited with cabinets more than with shelving. I like to be able to have lots of differing widths/heights/depths for my storage.
• Cabinets also limit the size of the items they can store. Shelving is much less restrictive.

Don't get me wrong. If I had more room, I'd love to have some cabinets. I would, of course, still have a need for shelving, but it'd be nice to have a nice, neat appearance with cabinets and if you have kids it might be nice to be able lock lock/latch some items. But when dealing with my confined space, I found that cabinets would be too restrictive for my needs. YMMV, IMHO, etc...

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Tommy,
My comments earlier about cabinets were definitely NOT a criticism. Frankly, I just have had a repetitive problem with rats in my garage because it is detached at the back of my property and there are a wealth of established fruit trees in the neighborhood feeding them.

Your open shelves looks nicely thought out and organized (though my OCD would make me put all the jackstands together; hell I'd probably have to paint them all the same color too - I'm ill, what can I say?!)

All my seasonal stuff has to be in closed plastic containers and I even zip tie them shut because the little effers can gnaw their way into the containers to nest. Poison, traps, etc only work for a limited time until a new generation of them come along. I used to love having stuff on open shelves because I could use my electric blower to blow the dust off everything and keep it fairly clean. Now it's more of a PITA!

 

[Tommy R]

Hey Dan,

LOL! No, I didn't take any offense by your cabinet comments. I was just looking at some other garage pics and thinking how much nicer cabinets make everything look by hiding all the clutter. I figured some folks may be curious why I went with shelving over cabinets and thought I would explain my reasoning.

Regarding the jack stands, well, the 4 large red ones are where they are simply because those shelves aren't already heavily burdened with a lot of weight, otherwise they would be near the other stands. The new shelving I added is shown holding only 3 stands at the moment. However, the four smaller ones go on the upper shelf and the two larger ones go on the small shelf. It's just that they're in partial use right now holding up my axle. I realize you weren't criticizing my jack stand placement, but thought I'd elaborate anyway since you mentioned it!

Tommy

 

[autoclassicnut]

First of all,nice work on the garage, and I like the Model A... Only thing I noticed is the storage of the gas cans inside the garage... I shy away from that because of welding and flames in the shop on occasion.That is just MHO. A simple small enclosure outside outside is used to keep gas cans out of immediate area and away from sparks etc...Good work!

 

[ChristopherLutz]

Tommy -

Congrats on your space and your house (2 years or so belated). The floor is really impressive. I paid to have someone do mine before I moved in (I was in CA at the time - this house is in TX) and it's not the best....has me wondering if it can be patched, painted over, that type of thing.

Thanks for taking the time to document, it makes for great Sunday morning reading.

A couple of questions / thoughts:

- I'm not sure how your house is set up; however, if you can build a shed that is attached to the outside wall of your garage, you may be able to relocate your water heater AND compressor outside. (your space looks more than functional....just responding your written comments)

- I too live in Texas, though DFW area....do you have trouble storing glues, paints and other items? The heat seems to ruin everything....any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (I'm originally from Southern CA - not accustomed to weather variances of any kind.

- with your "ahem" lighting requirements....have you considered enclosing the shelves and painting the faces/doors? You'd get a lot of refraction back from that effort....Also - they(doors) can be used as whiteboards - an Idea I thought was pretty cool.

- not sure what the pitch is on your roof - but, if you could make use of a lowering shelf that recesses into the ceiling, you might be able to move more items off the floor (like the wheels, that are probably seldom used)

- lastly, on the 30 - did you tunnel/recess the frame into the body? what are your plans for drivetrain/final look?

thumbs up on the resourcefullness.

 

[rustyproject]

Good job on the 2 car garage. I'm stuck in a 2 car and always like getting ideas for space savings. I love Austin and plan on going to the Lonestar Roundup every year if possible. I had a blast last year and would have loved to have bought the coupe at the swap meet. Keep us posted on the coupes progress. I love looking at tools but get more excited by seeing good work done with them.

 

[Tommy R]

First of all,nice work on the garage, and I like the Model A... Only thing I noticed is the storage of the gas cans inside the garage... I shy away from that because of welding and flames in the shop on occasion.That is just MHO. A simple small enclosure outside outside is used to keep gas cans out of immediate area and away from sparks etc...Good work!

Thanks for the kind words and you're right about the gas cans. 99% of the time, they're actually empty so I guess it's not too big of a risk, but I think to play it safe I'll put them in my shed in the backyard. I have a concrete slabbed metal shed which is definitely a better storage place for gas.

Tommy -

Congrats on your space and your house (2 years or so belated). The floor is really impressive. I paid to have someone do mine before I moved in (I was in CA at the time - this house is in TX) and it's not the best....has me wondering if it can be patched, painted over, that type of thing.

Thanks for taking the time to document, it makes for great Sunday morning reading.

My pleasure and thanks for the compliments.

A couple of questions / thoughts:

- I'm not sure how your house is set up; however, if you can build a shed that is attached to the outside wall of your garage, you may be able to relocate your water heater AND compressor outside. (your space looks more than functional....just responding your written comments)

The main reasons I haven't done that is because I don't want to move either of these into my patio. The only other available wall would put this stuff out in the open and space there is pretty limited. I'm not saying it's not possible, but just not feasible for me right now.

- I too live in Texas, though DFW area....do you have trouble storing glues, paints and other items? The heat seems to ruin everything....any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (I'm originally from Southern CA - not accustomed to weather variances of any kind.

I'm pretty lucky in that my garage has shade on it most of the day so while the heat is bad, it could be worse. Overall, I don't have issues with stuff drying out too much, but I do make sure to keep lids on nice and tight.

- with your "ahem" lighting requirements....have you considered enclosing the shelves and painting the faces/doors? You'd get a lot of refraction back from that effort....Also - they(doors) can be used as whiteboards - an Idea I thought was pretty cool.

I have, but there's quite a few reasons I decided not to use cabinets. I think I listed a few of the reasons a few posts above this one?

- not sure what the pitch is on your roof - but, if you could make use of a lowering shelf that recesses into the ceiling, you might be able to move more items off the floor (like the wheels, that are probably seldom used)

Cool idea, but sound like it would be pretty elaborate. For now, I think I'll just stick with putting stuff in the attic that's seldom used. Hopefully, the extra wheels will be put to use soon!

- lastly, on the 30 - did you tunnel/recess the frame into the body? what are your plans for drivetrain/final look?

No, it's not getting channeled. I'm keeping it as a high boy. The plan is to build it as a traditional styled late '50s hot rod. Chopped top, '32 frame, transverse leaf springs, skinny bias plies, etc. As much as I'd like to do an original Hemi, I decided for the sake of reliability, cost, and performance to go with a small block Chevy. It'll be backed by a Saginaw 4 speed and 9" from a '66 Bronco. I have all the major parts now. Just need to get it all together! Here's a pic of a buddy's car which is very similar to the look I'm after. I haven't decided on a color yet.

thumbs up on the resourcefullness.

Thanks a lot!!

Good job on the 2 car garage. I'm stuck in a 2 car and always like getting ideas for space savings. I love Austin and plan on going to the Lonestar Roundup every year if possible. I had a blast last year and would have loved to have bought the coupe at the swap meet. Keep us posted on the coupes progress. I love looking at tools but get more excited by seeing good work done with them.

Thanks! Definitely hit me up when you come in for the Round Up next year. You should come in for the Hot Rod Revolution on Dec. 10th. Should be a great show!! And in case you or anyone else is interested, here's my build thread on the HAMB:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482087

 

[mge_1]

Awesome job!!!

 

[Tommy R]

Awesome job!!!

Thanks very much!

 

[JimVonBaden]

Looks great! Similar in size to mine, and similar in function, though I mostly work on motorcycles and my Sky.

Jim

 

[blknblubkrdude]

Looks good. Great use of space! How do you like the HF press?

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks, y'all!

Yeah, the HF press is okay. Like anything from HF, it's not of the greatest fit and finish, but it does the job well.

 

[SkidooRider15]

garage came out really good. gives me some good ideas.

 

[dypen]

Great garage !